Dan Donnelly (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Dan Donnelly was a professional boxing
pioneer and the first Irish-born heavyweight champion. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
, Pioneers Category in 2008.
The country was still reeling from the aftermath of the 1798 Rebellion when the Act of Union
was passed. It merged the Kingdom of Ireland
and the Kingdom of Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. There was a smooth transition to the Union that was only slightly disrupted by a revolt
in Dublin in 1803. This campaign was doomed to failure, but it had a profound effect on Dan Donnelly. One of his workmates at Connery's timber yard on Sir John Rogerson's Quay was the brother of Anne Devlin
. Anne played a central role in the conspiracy. Anne Devlin was Robert Emmet
's housekeeper. She was arrested, tortured, and jailed. Emmet, who led the revolt, was hanged and beheaded once dead. Donnelly now lived in a land that seemed leaderless and broken in spirit—a land in desperate need for someone to come along and give the British a bloody nose.
During the period between the 1798 Rebellion, the Act of Union, and O'Connell's
political campaign, there was Dan Donnelly. He gave the Irish a sense of pride and self-respect at a time when it was badly needed. Boxing is democratic. In hurling, soccer, Gaelic football, or rugby, there are 11–15 members on a team. The boxer is on his own in the ring. There's no one there to back him up.
Even on the tough streets of Dublin, Dan Donnelly had a reputation of being a hard man to provoke, a man who would go to great lengths to avoid settling an argument in the traditional manner. But when the need arose—usually when the old, feeble, or female were mistreated—Donnelly was known to be handy with his fists, and he became the district's new fighting hero.
There was an instance where he heard the screams of a young woman down at the dockside area where he lived. He found two burly sailors were attacking this young woman. He went to her rescue. The sailors grabbed him, attacked him with stones, and kicked him. He ended up with a mangled arm, which would have certainly precluded any boxing career that might have lain ahead of him. Luckily, he was taken to the premises of Dr. Abraham Colles
, a famous surgeon. At first he said the arm would have to be amputated, but he then delicately was able to put the arm together and put his arm around him and proclaimed him a "pocket Hercules". There was another instance where an old lady had died in poverty-stricken circumstances from a highly contagious fever. People were reluctant to approach the body, but Donnelly on hearing this, went to the room, hoisted the body up on his shoulders, and went off to a local graveyard, where he found grave diggers at work. He declared that the grave they were finishing would be for the woman. They refused, stating that it was reserved for a person of distinction. He insisted that she would be interred in that grave. The grave diggers stood back and let him do what he wanted to do.
News of Dan's fighting exploits with Dublin's feuding gangs spread swiftly. He gained a reputation for keeping the city's crooks in check. One boxer, recognized as Champion of the City, became jealous of Donnelly's reputation and took to following his foe around the local taverns demanding a fight. Eventually, Donnelly relented and the fight was staged on the banks of the Grand Canal. The event aroused a great deal of interest in Dublin, and a good crowd turned up. Right up to the time they took sparring positions, Donnelly tried to talk his rival out of fighting, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. As the fight dragged on, Donnelly gradually overcame his rival, and in a furious attack in the 16th round, beat him to the ground. Donnelly was declared the new Champion of the City.
Around this time, an Irish aristocrat was sitting in an English tavern. Captain William Kelly listened on as a pair of English prize-fighters mocked Ireland's reputation as a nation of courageous men. Kelly considered this an affront to his native land and resolved to find a fighting Irishman to take up the challenge. His search eventually took him to Dublin and to Dan Donnelly.
in County Kildare
on September 14, 1814. The spot was known at the time as Belcher's Hollow, a natural amphitheater that was regularly used for big prize fights. The opponent was a prominent English fighter, Tom Hall, who was touring Ireland, giving sparring exhibitions and boxing instruction. By one o'clock when the bout was due to start, an estimated 20,000 people packed onto the sides of the hollow, at the base of which a 22-foot (6.71 m) square had been roped off.
Boxing at that time was very different to the boxing of today. There were few rules. There was no boxing organization to oversee the sport or lay down regulations or procedures. There was no formal end to the fights: they would go on until one fighter was unable to continue or would give up. A now obsolete practice was that of the seconds. The seconds would wait in the ring during the fight, and assist the boxer between rounds. There were no restrictions regarding fight tactics. For example, a fighter could hit his opponent's head off a corner post, or wrestle his opponent to the ground, or pull his hair, or wrap his arm around his neck in a choking motion and then hit him in the face with the other hand. The fights were very severe and often brutal, and they would continue until the end.
A round could last as long as six or seven minutes, or a little as 30 seconds. The round would end when one person was on the ground. He would then have 30 seconds to get up and continue the fight.
For a few rounds, Hall was showing his skill was paramount. He scored first blood, which was an important occasion in bare-fist boxing; there were bets made on who would draw first blood. But as the rounds went on, Donnelly's strength began to tell. Hall would slip down onto his knee, without being in any danger. This was a tactic, because once he went down the round was over, he got a 30-second rest, and came back refreshed. He was doing this just a bit too often for Donnelly's liking, and at one stage, Donnelly was just about to lash out when he was down, and his second shouted out an admonishment that Dan would lose the fight if he did so. Eventually he did lose his temper, and as Hall slipped down yet again, Donnelly lashed out and hit him on the ear; the blood flowed. That was the end of the round. Hall refused to continue, saying he had been fouled, that Donnelly should be disqualified. Donnelly fans voiced that no, Dan had definitely won, Hall didn't want to fight on, Donnelly was the champion. The fight ended in some controversy, but to the Irish, he was the conquering hero.
Belcher's Hollow was rechristened Donnelly's Hollow and Dan Donnelly was now acclaimed as Ireland's Champion. For a short while, at least, the country celebrated its new hero. The Irish saw sporting heroes like Dan Donnelly as the symbolic winner of the bigger fight. While Ireland was left without its own government, England was becoming increasingly more powerful. Whenever Dan's right hand bloodied an English nose, it was hailed as a strike, however small, against the oppressors.
had beaten Napoleon at Waterloo
and Britannia
certainly ruled the waves. In the minds of the populace, Dan Donnelly epitomized the national struggle in an Ireland governed by mad old George III, championing their seemingly hopeless cause against the intransigent representatives of the Crown
.
In Irish folk tradition
, the hero took center stage. That goes back to the storytelling tradition which still exists today. The hero is revered; he's someone who is willing to stand up and fight for himself and his people. Dan was synonymous with Ireland as he was a patriot. He lived and fought in the period after the 1798 Rebellion, the Act of Union, and the Catholic Emancipation
, which was led by Daniel O'Connell and the Nationalists. Spirits and morale were good in Ireland at that time. As a patriotic himself, the timing couldn't be better for Donnelly.
The political climate between Ireland and Britain is better and more peaceful today than it has been in a very long time, but if a rugby or soccer game is held between the two countries, there is a certain amount of tension or jingoism. Dan Donnelly and his boxing matches embodied this mentality in the early 19th century. It's symbolic of how the Irish and the English fought their political battles on the football pitch and in the boxing ring.
Donnelly was a national hero, but he was also broke. He drank away the purse from beating Tom Hall, but the chance of another big payday eventually presented itself. He was approached by George Cooper and Tom Molyneux
, two leading prize-fighters who were touring Ireland on an exhibition tour to teach the art of boxing.
These two came to Dublin, heard of Donnelly, and invited him to meet them in a local pub. They prevailed upon him to fight Molyneux originally, and he said no. He had no desire to fight a conquered man, because Molyneux had just been beaten by the other man of the company, George Cooper. Molyneux was hurt by this curt refusal, but he was calmed down by his companion. Arrangements were made for the fight with Cooper.
The bout was set for December 13, 1815. Once again, it was to be staged at Donnelly's Hollow on the Curragh in County Kildare. News of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was resounding around Europe. George Cooper was a hotter favorite than the Iron Duke had been in his bout with the Little Corporal. Cooper was a bargeman with a fearful reputation. He was of gypsy blood and he was 10/1 on to batter Dan Donnelly.
From early morning, crews began to converge on Donnelly's Hollow. They came from far and wide, using every horse-drawn contraption they could find, or on horseback. If they they couldn't do so, they gladly walked the distance. There were 20,000 people packed in there on that day. Excitement was intense.
Bets were made back then as is still customary to this day. Bets were made on the results of the fight, on who'd draw the first blood, or on who would score the first knockdown. There were rules, but they were designed to accommodate gambling, the public, and those who organized the fight. The boxers themselves were of no consequence.
It was a fight that went one way then the other for a round. Again, Donnelly's strength would always tell in a bare-knuckle fight to the finish. In one round, Cooper used the cross-buttock tactic with Donnelly and severely winded him. The cross-buttock was more a wrestling maneuver than a boxing one, but it was legitimate under the rules of the time. A competitor gets, more or less, in front of his opponent, and throws his adversary over his hip, causing him to land with great force on the ground.
If one popular story is to be believed, Donnelly, who was being badly beaten in the fifth round, was saved by the magical properties of a lump of sugar cane slipped to him by Captain Kelly's sister. She had been pleading with Dan to win, telling him she had bet her entire estate on the outcome. When Donnelly failed to respond, she slipped him a piece of the sugar cane, while urging him, "Now my charmer, give him a warmer!" The Irish champion was rejuvenated and the course of the fight changed.
In the seventh round, he sent Cooper flat on his back on the turf and jumped on top of him, winding Cooper so badly he could hardly rise. He did rise for the next round, but in the eleventh, Donnelly finished him off with a tremendous right hand that smashed Cooper's jaw. The sound of the cheering was likened to the sound of artillery going off. The cheers could be heard in villages for miles around. Donnelly was the conquering hero.
As Donnelly proudly strode up the hill towards his carriage, fanatical followers dug out imprints left by his feet. Leading from the monument which commemorates the scene of his greatest victory, "The Steps to Strength and Fame" are still to be seen in Donnelly's Hollow. Donnelly politely declined all invitations to celebrate his triumph in the taverns of County Kildare. He had promised his friends and family he would return to Dublin immediately after the fight.
Newspapers in the 18th century had many references to boxing. However, this was bare-knuckle fighting, fighting that was severe and sometimes brutal. That type of boxing was at its most popular during Dan's time. Boxing champions in those days became well-renowned. He was aware that political conflict was very much to the fore then. He accepted that he was representing the Irish people in this area in which he was active. He was a patriot, who, if needed, would stand up for his beliefs.
in Sussex
.
He had a reputation
for being a gambler
, a womanizer
and a drunkard
. After his victory over Cooper, Donnelly was the proprietor
of a succession of four Dublin pubs
, all of them unprofitable. Fallon's Capstan Bar is the only one still in existence.
He died at Donnelly's Public House, the last tavern he owned, on February 18, 1820 at the age of 32. An oval
wall plaque
commemorates the site of his death
. A squat, weather-beaten, gray
obelisk
surrounded by a short iron
fence
marks the exact site of the Cooper bout. The inscription on the monument
: DAN DONNELLY BEAT COOPER ON THIS SPOT 13TH DEC. 1815.
, one of the city's oldest cemeteries. After just a few nights, grave robbers put Donnelly's body in a sack and delivered him to an eminent surgeon who paid good money for cadavers for study. They may even have been working to order.
Donnelly's admirers tracked the body to the home of a surgeon by the name of Hall and threatened him with death. There was a quick negotiation and he agreed to give the body back as long as he could keep the right arm, the one that slew the English champions, for medical observation. The arm was preserved in red lead paint, and traveled to a medical college in Scotland
where it was used by medical students for a number of years to study how all the bones worked together.
From an Edinburgh
classroom, the arm became an exhibit in a Victorian
travelling circus, and it journeyed around Britain many times. In the early 20th century, it finally came back to Ireland. In 1904, a Belfast
bookmaker
, Hugh "Texas" McAlevey, acquired the arm and displayed it in his pub.
The publican got tired of it and thought the grisly-looking sight might be frightening off customers, so he stuck it up in an attic. A betting parlor employee remembers as a teenager being told not to go up in the attic—that Donnelly's ghost was up there.
Donnelly's arm made it back to Kilcullen
in the 1950s. Publican Jim Byrne came up with the idea of recreating Donnelly's fight with George Cooper in the Curragh. The fight was promoted by bringing Donnelly's arm back to where it defeated the English opponent.
The pageant brought the historic contest alive again, rekindling the Dan Donnelly fire. It was An Tóstal
, an Irish festival started at that time nationwide in an effort to promote tourism. Each region was encouraged to have some sort of festival to attract visitors. This was the genesis of the Dan Donnelly pageant.
Kevin McCourt, an army officer, was picked to play George Cooper, the English champion; Jim Berney was chosen to portray Dan Donnelly, the Irish champion. George Cooper and Dan Donnelly, as played by McCourt and Berney, had a group of supporters as well, dressed up and cheering, carrying them down into the arena. Two "supporters" performed getting involved in a ruckus. Local sporting clubs and townspeople comprised the spectators.
Donnelly's arm found a new home in Jim Byrne's pub, "The Hideout." It became a popular attraction in Kilcullen
.
It was on display there for 43 years until Jim Byrne died and the pub passed to his son, Desmond. Des then eventually sold the pub.
Des died December 6, 2005. On that day, his son took a phone call from James J. Houlihan in America, looking to take the arm and display it there. Deciding this was not the appropriate time, he opted to call at a later date. In February of the following year, he called the widow Josephine and told her he was going to have an exhibition entitled "Fighting Irishmen: A Celebration of the Celtic Warrior". She was not interested at the time believing that he would take the arm and she would never see it again. He kept on writing her, phoning her, and asking her to look at his website. Convinced that he was an honorable, respected man, she agreed to put the trip in motion.
Josephine wouldn't let the human limb that was almost 200 years old go into a cargo hold for transportation to America. One of Des's bandmates had been Henry Donohoe, then the chief pilot for Aer Lingus
. She called him and asked how to get the arm to the States. He told her that he would take it in the cockpit with himself.
Josephine sat in first class. A special box was made for the arm, crating around it to prevent it from getting banged around. It fit into the cockpit with two inches to spare.
As the centerpiece of the Fighting Irishmen Exhibit, Donnelly's arm went on display at the Irish Arts Center in New York City, in the fall of 2006. The show traveled across the city to the South Street Seaport Museum in 2007. Its next appearance was at Boston College
's John J. Burns Library in 2008. The arm returned to Ireland in 2009 when the show arrived at the Ulster American Folk Park
in Omagh
. 2010 was a homecoming when the exhibition appeared at the Gaelic Athletic Association
museum at Croke Park
in Dublin.
after his death. Donnelly remains the subject of urban legend
. One contends that he had the longest arm
s in boxing history, with the ability to touch his knee
s without bending down. Another claims that he was knighted by the Prince Regent
. His arms were actually of normal length for a man of his size. No known documentation exists to support the latter.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
pioneer and the first Irish-born heavyweight champion. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
, Pioneers Category in 2008.
Champion of the needy
Donnelly was born in the docks of Dublin, Ireland in March, 1788. He came from a family of seventeen children. His father was a carpenter, but suffered from chest complaints, probably bronchitis, and was frequently out of work. In those days there was no pay if you didn't work. It was a terrific struggle to bring up a family of that size. To Donnelly, like most kids of his time, this was the life he knew and was not particularly aware of the poverty around him. As soon as he was able, he went to work as a carpenter.The country was still reeling from the aftermath of the 1798 Rebellion when the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
was passed. It merged the Kingdom of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
and the Kingdom of Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. There was a smooth transition to the Union that was only slightly disrupted by a revolt
Irish Rebellion of 1803
The Irish Rebellion of 1803 was an unsuccessful attempt by a group of Irish nationalists to secure Ireland's independence from the United Kingdom.- Leaders :...
in Dublin in 1803. This campaign was doomed to failure, but it had a profound effect on Dan Donnelly. One of his workmates at Connery's timber yard on Sir John Rogerson's Quay was the brother of Anne Devlin
Anne Devlin
Anne Devlin was an Irish republican who acted as housekeeper to Robert Emmet and who was also a cousin of two leading United Irish rebels, Michael Dwyer and Arthur Devlin.-Revolutionary involvement:Devlin was born in Rathdrum Co...
. Anne played a central role in the conspiracy. Anne Devlin was Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
's housekeeper. She was arrested, tortured, and jailed. Emmet, who led the revolt, was hanged and beheaded once dead. Donnelly now lived in a land that seemed leaderless and broken in spirit—a land in desperate need for someone to come along and give the British a bloody nose.
During the period between the 1798 Rebellion, the Act of Union, and O'Connell's
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
political campaign, there was Dan Donnelly. He gave the Irish a sense of pride and self-respect at a time when it was badly needed. Boxing is democratic. In hurling, soccer, Gaelic football, or rugby, there are 11–15 members on a team. The boxer is on his own in the ring. There's no one there to back him up.
Even on the tough streets of Dublin, Dan Donnelly had a reputation of being a hard man to provoke, a man who would go to great lengths to avoid settling an argument in the traditional manner. But when the need arose—usually when the old, feeble, or female were mistreated—Donnelly was known to be handy with his fists, and he became the district's new fighting hero.
There was an instance where he heard the screams of a young woman down at the dockside area where he lived. He found two burly sailors were attacking this young woman. He went to her rescue. The sailors grabbed him, attacked him with stones, and kicked him. He ended up with a mangled arm, which would have certainly precluded any boxing career that might have lain ahead of him. Luckily, he was taken to the premises of Dr. Abraham Colles
Abraham Colles
Abraham Colles was professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Descended from a Worcestershire family, some of whom had sat in Parliament, he was born to William Colles and Mary Anne Bates of Woodbroak, Co. Wexford...
, a famous surgeon. At first he said the arm would have to be amputated, but he then delicately was able to put the arm together and put his arm around him and proclaimed him a "pocket Hercules". There was another instance where an old lady had died in poverty-stricken circumstances from a highly contagious fever. People were reluctant to approach the body, but Donnelly on hearing this, went to the room, hoisted the body up on his shoulders, and went off to a local graveyard, where he found grave diggers at work. He declared that the grave they were finishing would be for the woman. They refused, stating that it was reserved for a person of distinction. He insisted that she would be interred in that grave. The grave diggers stood back and let him do what he wanted to do.
Beating a bully
He was a tall, strapping man. He was nearly six feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed almost 14 stone (196 lbs, 89kg). He was a courageous man. His strongest trait, however, was his outgoing, sociable personality. He was fond of the company of others and this was reciprocated.News of Dan's fighting exploits with Dublin's feuding gangs spread swiftly. He gained a reputation for keeping the city's crooks in check. One boxer, recognized as Champion of the City, became jealous of Donnelly's reputation and took to following his foe around the local taverns demanding a fight. Eventually, Donnelly relented and the fight was staged on the banks of the Grand Canal. The event aroused a great deal of interest in Dublin, and a good crowd turned up. Right up to the time they took sparring positions, Donnelly tried to talk his rival out of fighting, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. As the fight dragged on, Donnelly gradually overcame his rival, and in a furious attack in the 16th round, beat him to the ground. Donnelly was declared the new Champion of the City.
Around this time, an Irish aristocrat was sitting in an English tavern. Captain William Kelly listened on as a pair of English prize-fighters mocked Ireland's reputation as a nation of courageous men. Kelly considered this an affront to his native land and resolved to find a fighting Irishman to take up the challenge. His search eventually took him to Dublin and to Dan Donnelly.
King of the Curragh
When prize fights were first introduced, it was the Fancy who tended to the boxers. The Fancy were aristocrats who followed the sport in the 18th and 19th centuries. They organized the training, the matches, and the finance. Donnelly's first big fight under his new patronage, Captain Kelly, was staged at the CurraghCurragh
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
on September 14, 1814. The spot was known at the time as Belcher's Hollow, a natural amphitheater that was regularly used for big prize fights. The opponent was a prominent English fighter, Tom Hall, who was touring Ireland, giving sparring exhibitions and boxing instruction. By one o'clock when the bout was due to start, an estimated 20,000 people packed onto the sides of the hollow, at the base of which a 22-foot (6.71 m) square had been roped off.
Boxing at that time was very different to the boxing of today. There were few rules. There was no boxing organization to oversee the sport or lay down regulations or procedures. There was no formal end to the fights: they would go on until one fighter was unable to continue or would give up. A now obsolete practice was that of the seconds. The seconds would wait in the ring during the fight, and assist the boxer between rounds. There were no restrictions regarding fight tactics. For example, a fighter could hit his opponent's head off a corner post, or wrestle his opponent to the ground, or pull his hair, or wrap his arm around his neck in a choking motion and then hit him in the face with the other hand. The fights were very severe and often brutal, and they would continue until the end.
A round could last as long as six or seven minutes, or a little as 30 seconds. The round would end when one person was on the ground. He would then have 30 seconds to get up and continue the fight.
For a few rounds, Hall was showing his skill was paramount. He scored first blood, which was an important occasion in bare-fist boxing; there were bets made on who would draw first blood. But as the rounds went on, Donnelly's strength began to tell. Hall would slip down onto his knee, without being in any danger. This was a tactic, because once he went down the round was over, he got a 30-second rest, and came back refreshed. He was doing this just a bit too often for Donnelly's liking, and at one stage, Donnelly was just about to lash out when he was down, and his second shouted out an admonishment that Dan would lose the fight if he did so. Eventually he did lose his temper, and as Hall slipped down yet again, Donnelly lashed out and hit him on the ear; the blood flowed. That was the end of the round. Hall refused to continue, saying he had been fouled, that Donnelly should be disqualified. Donnelly fans voiced that no, Dan had definitely won, Hall didn't want to fight on, Donnelly was the champion. The fight ended in some controversy, but to the Irish, he was the conquering hero.
Belcher's Hollow was rechristened Donnelly's Hollow and Dan Donnelly was now acclaimed as Ireland's Champion. For a short while, at least, the country celebrated its new hero. The Irish saw sporting heroes like Dan Donnelly as the symbolic winner of the bigger fight. While Ireland was left without its own government, England was becoming increasingly more powerful. Whenever Dan's right hand bloodied an English nose, it was hailed as a strike, however small, against the oppressors.
Cooper's challenge
It was the summer of 1815, and while Ireland was at its weakest, England had never seemed stronger. WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
had beaten Napoleon at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
certainly ruled the waves. In the minds of the populace, Dan Donnelly epitomized the national struggle in an Ireland governed by mad old George III, championing their seemingly hopeless cause against the intransigent representatives of the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
In Irish folk tradition
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, the hero took center stage. That goes back to the storytelling tradition which still exists today. The hero is revered; he's someone who is willing to stand up and fight for himself and his people. Dan was synonymous with Ireland as he was a patriot. He lived and fought in the period after the 1798 Rebellion, the Act of Union, and the Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, which was led by Daniel O'Connell and the Nationalists. Spirits and morale were good in Ireland at that time. As a patriotic himself, the timing couldn't be better for Donnelly.
The political climate between Ireland and Britain is better and more peaceful today than it has been in a very long time, but if a rugby or soccer game is held between the two countries, there is a certain amount of tension or jingoism. Dan Donnelly and his boxing matches embodied this mentality in the early 19th century. It's symbolic of how the Irish and the English fought their political battles on the football pitch and in the boxing ring.
Donnelly was a national hero, but he was also broke. He drank away the purse from beating Tom Hall, but the chance of another big payday eventually presented itself. He was approached by George Cooper and Tom Molyneux
Tom Molineaux
Tom Molineaux was a African-American bare-knuckle boxer. He spent much of his career in Great Britain and Ireland, where he had some notable successes.-Early life:...
, two leading prize-fighters who were touring Ireland on an exhibition tour to teach the art of boxing.
These two came to Dublin, heard of Donnelly, and invited him to meet them in a local pub. They prevailed upon him to fight Molyneux originally, and he said no. He had no desire to fight a conquered man, because Molyneux had just been beaten by the other man of the company, George Cooper. Molyneux was hurt by this curt refusal, but he was calmed down by his companion. Arrangements were made for the fight with Cooper.
The bout was set for December 13, 1815. Once again, it was to be staged at Donnelly's Hollow on the Curragh in County Kildare. News of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was resounding around Europe. George Cooper was a hotter favorite than the Iron Duke had been in his bout with the Little Corporal. Cooper was a bargeman with a fearful reputation. He was of gypsy blood and he was 10/1 on to batter Dan Donnelly.
From early morning, crews began to converge on Donnelly's Hollow. They came from far and wide, using every horse-drawn contraption they could find, or on horseback. If they they couldn't do so, they gladly walked the distance. There were 20,000 people packed in there on that day. Excitement was intense.
Bets were made back then as is still customary to this day. Bets were made on the results of the fight, on who'd draw the first blood, or on who would score the first knockdown. There were rules, but they were designed to accommodate gambling, the public, and those who organized the fight. The boxers themselves were of no consequence.
It was a fight that went one way then the other for a round. Again, Donnelly's strength would always tell in a bare-knuckle fight to the finish. In one round, Cooper used the cross-buttock tactic with Donnelly and severely winded him. The cross-buttock was more a wrestling maneuver than a boxing one, but it was legitimate under the rules of the time. A competitor gets, more or less, in front of his opponent, and throws his adversary over his hip, causing him to land with great force on the ground.
If one popular story is to be believed, Donnelly, who was being badly beaten in the fifth round, was saved by the magical properties of a lump of sugar cane slipped to him by Captain Kelly's sister. She had been pleading with Dan to win, telling him she had bet her entire estate on the outcome. When Donnelly failed to respond, she slipped him a piece of the sugar cane, while urging him, "Now my charmer, give him a warmer!" The Irish champion was rejuvenated and the course of the fight changed.
In the seventh round, he sent Cooper flat on his back on the turf and jumped on top of him, winding Cooper so badly he could hardly rise. He did rise for the next round, but in the eleventh, Donnelly finished him off with a tremendous right hand that smashed Cooper's jaw. The sound of the cheering was likened to the sound of artillery going off. The cheers could be heard in villages for miles around. Donnelly was the conquering hero.
As Donnelly proudly strode up the hill towards his carriage, fanatical followers dug out imprints left by his feet. Leading from the monument which commemorates the scene of his greatest victory, "The Steps to Strength and Fame" are still to be seen in Donnelly's Hollow. Donnelly politely declined all invitations to celebrate his triumph in the taverns of County Kildare. He had promised his friends and family he would return to Dublin immediately after the fight.
Newspapers in the 18th century had many references to boxing. However, this was bare-knuckle fighting, fighting that was severe and sometimes brutal. That type of boxing was at its most popular during Dan's time. Boxing champions in those days became well-renowned. He was aware that political conflict was very much to the fore then. He accepted that he was representing the Irish people in this area in which he was active. He was a patriot, who, if needed, would stand up for his beliefs.
Later life
In his third and final fight on July 21, 1819, he defeated Tom Oliver in 34 rounds on English turf, at Crawley DownCrawley Down
Crawley Down is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. There is one church, one school, and a number of social groups. It lies seven miles from Gatwick Airport. Nearest railway stations are Three Bridges and East Grinstead...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
He had a reputation
Reputation
Reputation of a social entity is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria...
for being a gambler
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, a womanizer
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
and a drunkard
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
. After his victory over Cooper, Donnelly was the proprietor
Ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...
of a succession of four Dublin pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, all of them unprofitable. Fallon's Capstan Bar is the only one still in existence.
He died at Donnelly's Public House, the last tavern he owned, on February 18, 1820 at the age of 32. An oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
wall plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
commemorates the site of his death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. A squat, weather-beaten, gray
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
surrounded by a short iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
fence
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
marks the exact site of the Cooper bout. The inscription on the monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
: DAN DONNELLY BEAT COOPER ON THIS SPOT 13TH DEC. 1815.
Donnelly's arm
Dan was laid to rest, albeit briefly, at Bully's AcreBully's Acre, Dublin
Bully's Acre is a former public cemetery located near the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin, Ireland. It is actually in extent.-History:...
, one of the city's oldest cemeteries. After just a few nights, grave robbers put Donnelly's body in a sack and delivered him to an eminent surgeon who paid good money for cadavers for study. They may even have been working to order.
Donnelly's admirers tracked the body to the home of a surgeon by the name of Hall and threatened him with death. There was a quick negotiation and he agreed to give the body back as long as he could keep the right arm, the one that slew the English champions, for medical observation. The arm was preserved in red lead paint, and traveled to a medical college in Scotland
University of Edinburgh Medical School
The University of Edinburgh Medical School is part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine of the University of Edinburgh. Established nearly 283 years ago, Edinburgh Medical School is one of the oldest medical schools in Scotland and the UK...
where it was used by medical students for a number of years to study how all the bones worked together.
From an Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
classroom, the arm became an exhibit in a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
travelling circus, and it journeyed around Britain many times. In the early 20th century, it finally came back to Ireland. In 1904, a Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
, Hugh "Texas" McAlevey, acquired the arm and displayed it in his pub.
The publican got tired of it and thought the grisly-looking sight might be frightening off customers, so he stuck it up in an attic. A betting parlor employee remembers as a teenager being told not to go up in the attic—that Donnelly's ghost was up there.
Donnelly's arm made it back to Kilcullen
Kilcullen
Kilcullen , formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 2,985 makes it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growing in the county, having doubled in population from 1,483 in the census of 2002...
in the 1950s. Publican Jim Byrne came up with the idea of recreating Donnelly's fight with George Cooper in the Curragh. The fight was promoted by bringing Donnelly's arm back to where it defeated the English opponent.
The pageant brought the historic contest alive again, rekindling the Dan Donnelly fire. It was An Tóstal
An Tóstal
An Tóstal was the name for a series of festivals held in Ireland in the 20th Century. Inaugurated in 1953 as a celebration of Irish life, it continued on until 1958 when it died out....
, an Irish festival started at that time nationwide in an effort to promote tourism. Each region was encouraged to have some sort of festival to attract visitors. This was the genesis of the Dan Donnelly pageant.
Kevin McCourt, an army officer, was picked to play George Cooper, the English champion; Jim Berney was chosen to portray Dan Donnelly, the Irish champion. George Cooper and Dan Donnelly, as played by McCourt and Berney, had a group of supporters as well, dressed up and cheering, carrying them down into the arena. Two "supporters" performed getting involved in a ruckus. Local sporting clubs and townspeople comprised the spectators.
Donnelly's arm found a new home in Jim Byrne's pub, "The Hideout." It became a popular attraction in Kilcullen
Kilcullen
Kilcullen , formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 2,985 makes it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growing in the county, having doubled in population from 1,483 in the census of 2002...
.
It was on display there for 43 years until Jim Byrne died and the pub passed to his son, Desmond. Des then eventually sold the pub.
Des died December 6, 2005. On that day, his son took a phone call from James J. Houlihan in America, looking to take the arm and display it there. Deciding this was not the appropriate time, he opted to call at a later date. In February of the following year, he called the widow Josephine and told her he was going to have an exhibition entitled "Fighting Irishmen: A Celebration of the Celtic Warrior". She was not interested at the time believing that he would take the arm and she would never see it again. He kept on writing her, phoning her, and asking her to look at his website. Convinced that he was an honorable, respected man, she agreed to put the trip in motion.
Josephine wouldn't let the human limb that was almost 200 years old go into a cargo hold for transportation to America. One of Des's bandmates had been Henry Donohoe, then the chief pilot for Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...
. She called him and asked how to get the arm to the States. He told her that he would take it in the cockpit with himself.
Josephine sat in first class. A special box was made for the arm, crating around it to prevent it from getting banged around. It fit into the cockpit with two inches to spare.
As the centerpiece of the Fighting Irishmen Exhibit, Donnelly's arm went on display at the Irish Arts Center in New York City, in the fall of 2006. The show traveled across the city to the South Street Seaport Museum in 2007. Its next appearance was at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
's John J. Burns Library in 2008. The arm returned to Ireland in 2009 when the show arrived at the Ulster American Folk Park
Ulster American Folk Park
The Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum in Castletown, just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Park explores the historical link between Ulster and America, focusing particularly on the lifestyle and experiences of those immigrants who sailed from Ulster to America...
in Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
. 2010 was a homecoming when the exhibition appeared at the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
museum at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
in Dublin.
Legends
Almost two centuriesCentury
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
after his death. Donnelly remains the subject of urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
. One contends that he had the longest arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
s in boxing history, with the ability to touch his knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
s without bending down. Another claims that he was knighted by the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. His arms were actually of normal length for a man of his size. No known documentation exists to support the latter.